You should set up two-factor authentication (2FA) on Instagram. And you should use an authenticator app

You might think: no one is going to hack my Instagram account. And you might be right. But here’s the thing: if someone does hack your account, you have next to no chance of getting someone at Instagram to restore it. Rather than make it easy for hackers to take over your account, spam your friends and delete years of photos, you should use 2FA. To do so, read this article: How to Turn on Two-Factor Authentication on Instagram.

While you can use SMS, I recommend using an authenticator app. That article explains how you can do it either way. Authenticator apps are more secure than SMS and are the way to go these days. For more on that, see PCMag.

IBM Cloud tip: be careful with security groups allow_all when setting up a server

Security groups are a great way to limit access to your server in IBM Cloud. However, if you are just setting up your server, make sure you don’t inadvertently block traffic so that you can’t do anything.

Case in point: you may set allow_all in a security group. You might think that would allow all traffic in and out of your server. However, allow_all will block some traffic still from leaving your server. I was not able to ping 8.8.8.8 or reach other traffic on my Windows VSI when I had this setting.

According to IBM support: “When setting security groups for servers you need to have an equal relationship of ingress (inbound) and egress (outbound) traffic in order to succeed in a proper connection. You would need the allow_all and the allow_outbound group to achieve this.”

What I find interesting in tech, August 2021

Here’s a cornucopia of things I have found interesting in tech in the last month. As usual, lots of cloud, some Kubernetes, DevOps and software of course, as well as IOT. Grab a drink and read!

Cloud:

On the cost of cloud: The Cost of Cloud a Trillion Dollar Paradox.
Relatedly: Why Is Cloud Computing So Complicated?
Also: Why the cloud is so complicated is an explanation not an excuse.
On Choosing Your VPC Endpoint Strategy for Amazon S3.
How to optimize your Azure costs.
For IT people: Which is the best Cloud Certification for beginners?
A great list: A To-Do List for Every New IBM Cloud Project.
Moves IBM has made: IBM upgrades its Big Iron OS for better cloud security and AI support.
Helpful: A cloud services cheat sheet for AWS Azure and Google Cloud.
For IT shops going to go hybrid cloud: A study of hosting and managing on Hybrid Multi-cloud.

Devops:

I thought this was useful: devops-a-complete-guide.
If you need to know: Three Differences Between DevOps and SRE.
A good intro: What Is DevOps and How Does It Work?
Some training advice: Train at your own pace for a well-paid career in DevOps and blockchain for just $30.
Curious about DevOps and mainframe? See Understanding how GitHub fits in a mainframe DevOps toolchain.
Here’s a piece on GitArchitecture.

Software:

A smart piece: Day 0/Day 1/Day 2 – the software lifecycle in the cloud age.
As a fan of Evernote, I found this interesting: Evernote works to keep current users and tries for new ones.
Before C, there was B: A TUTORIAL INTRODUCTION TO THE LANGUAGE B.
For Kafka users: Understanding Kafka Topic Partitions.
For Javascript folks: The JavaScript Framework That Puts Web Pages on a Diet.
Java Devs, here’s a must read: We Crunched 1 Billion Java Logged Errors.Here‚’s What Causes 97% of Them.
Finally, this is a good primer: How To Build a Website with HTML.

Kubernetes:

Some good tutorials: Kubernetes tutorials: Hands-on labs with certification.
Relatedly: KubeAcademy : Unlock your full potential with Kubernetes courses designed by experts : KubeAcademy.
On K8S storage: The Importance of Persistent Storage in Kubernetes- OpenEBS.

Security:

Kubernetes users, take note: Kubernetes Cloud Clusters Face Cyberattacks via Argo Workflows.
Relatedly: Threat Alert: Market-First Container Image Built to Attack Kubernetes Clusters.

IOT:

This looks fun: E-Ink Tide and Weather Tracker. So does this: Build a Mute/Unmute Button for your Video Calls with a Raspberry Pi Pico and MicroPython.

Cool stuff:

I love stories of what Doom can run on!
For fans of the old NeXT, check this out: Build your own NeXT with a virtual machine close.
Kudos to Microsoft for doing this: This Microsoft-powered AI-enabled robot cleans up cigarette butts littered on the beach!

General

For architecture fans: Part 1. Envisioning the architecture.
A fine initiative: Microsoft and Toronto non-profit partners to help firms set up workplace rapid screening program in as little as a week.
For Chromebook users: How to fix the “cannot download file” issue in Google Drive on a Chromebook. Relatedly, How to Check Whether a Used Chromebook is Obsolete Before You Buy It.
This is a great idea: Minimum Viable Governance. Relatedly: Minimum Viable Governance: lightweight community structure to grow your FOSS projects.
This app is terrible: Millions of people uploaded photos to the Ever app. Then the company used them to develop facial recognition tools..
This is frightening: Autonomous war machines could make costly mistakes on future battlefields.
Useful IP for ecommerce people. A good STORE POLICY.
More on ecommerce: Coffee shop owner says Shopify saved her business suggests other business owners take advantage of free tools close.
For BigIron people: Mainframe Tips Tricks And Tutorials.
For Linux folks: Use caution when making changes to bash configurations in Linux.
Don’t use these passwords: Top 500 Most Common Passwords Visualized.
That’s a nope from me: Facebook Wants Us to Live in the Metaverse.

(Photo by Sam Albury on Unsplash )